


Secrets and Lavender

by VertigoReader101



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens keep on flirting with Keith, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Jealous Lance (Voltron), Keith doesn't know he's super attractive, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Make Outs, Pidge and Hunk still think Lance likes Allura, Protective Lance (Voltron), Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 07:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17845280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VertigoReader101/pseuds/VertigoReader101
Summary: Lance rolled his eyes. “Not like you know anything about love, Pidge podge.”“And you do?” Pidge questioned.Lance’s eyes subconsciously glanced over to Keith who was stubbornly looking straight ahead, but you could tell he was listening closely.“I’d like to think so.”`````````````````````Or five times Lance was jealous but couldn't say anything and the one time that he punches someone in the face.





	Secrets and Lavender

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be half the size but when will I ever learn?
> 
> Edit: Thank you for 1000 kudos!!!! I love this fic and I’m so happy other people are enjoying it too!!!!

**1**

  
Would it be bad if Lance punched the princess of a war thriving planet?

Maybe he can throw a quick one and brisk Keith off planet-what’s-it-called before he gets killed. Allura would scream at him afterwards but at least the pink alien would get her clawed hands off his man.

The what’s-them-called only have bright colours as skin, which is unusual for a species that are constantly in war, but they use their colour as a threat and show how they have no fears. That’s at least what Coran said before they arrived on the desert planet. The species were human-oid with antlers of varying sizes, showing their status, and hair that looked made of tinsel. Markings covered their bodies in swirls and sharp edges that was painted on, the only clothing they wore hid private parts with cloth.

The princess had her white, sparking hair in a braided crown with the rest flowing down to her thighs. Her wooden antlers climbing out of her head in tall swirls, golden chains dipping off of them. Her eyes shone magenta as they ran them up and down Keith’s body as he was innocently explaining the coalition deal. Shiro and Allura were on the princess’s other side, both a little disgruntled at being clearly ignored.

She was beautiful. But she’d look better with a broken nose.

That was why Lance was sitting straight in his chair, right at the edge of it in case her fingers get any closer to Keith’s hair. Lance was the only one allowed to touch that mullet and he won’t let that be ruined by a flirty princess.

Hunk noticed Lance’s unsteadiness and laid a comforting hand of the boy’s shoulder. Lance flinched and peeled his eyes off of his boyfriend and the princess to look at his friend.

“Are you okay buddy?” He asked quietly with worry.

Lance blinked and cursed mentally of how obvious he was. He forced his signature smile and made himself settle into the wooden chair.

“Yeah bud, everything is great.” He waved him off and briefly flickered his gaze back to the duo he’s been watching ever since the princess plopped herself down next to Keith’s seat, which was across the wide table from Lance.

There was a scoff from the otherside of him and when he turned he saw Pidge’s mischievous smirk. She talked quietly. “You’ve been glaring at princess Osah for hours now. There is definitely something happening in that small brain of yours.”

Lance glared at the younger paladin. “My brain is not small.”

“But she’s got a point.” Said Hunk, which made Lance whip his head around to show how betrayed he was at his best friend. “Not the brain thing, the whole glaring at the princess thing.”

Lance huffed. “I’m not glaring.” He sneaks another glance and watches as the princess leans in closer, Keith, as always, oblivious to her intentions.

“I know what it is.” Claimed Pidge, her voice soaking with a teasing tone. “You’re jealous.”

Lance squawed in surprise, a faint red tint on his cheeks from being found out. “I am not jealous.” He hissed, crossing his arms with a pout.

“You probably want to be in Keith’s place right now, getting the princess’ attention all for yourself.” Pidge said with a nudge to his side.

That was where Pidge was wrong. Jealous? Yes. But of Keith? Not in the slightest. Lance wouldn’t ever even glance at her way as long as Keith was with him, a promise of kisses and cuddling and intertwined hands under the table. Lance would give anything in that moment to take Keith in his arms and smother him with affection. Bonus if it’s right in front of the princess’ stupid face.

But he can’t, because they made a promise to each other a month ago that they’d wait to see how well their relationship will go before saying anything. It was difficult at times, whether being on tiresome days, after large battles, and moments when someone else would find interest like what was happening right now.

“I’m just on edge, okay?” He begun defending himself. “She’s getting really close and you know how these people like war. What if she puts poison in his drink?” Saying that made him panic and went back to watching the duo.

“She’s not going to poison his cup.” Hunk paused. “I think. Oh my god, what if she puts poison in his cup?” He whisper-yelled.

Lance looked at Pidge to see her a “see?” look, to which she gave an unimpressed glare.

Then Hunk was calling Keith’s name and the boy in question looked up from the papers on the desk.

“Hey man, mind giving me your cup? A bug flew into mine.”

Keith tilted his head in confusion, a way that made him look like a cat, which Lance totally teased him for. “Oh, uh sure.” Then he was pushing the cup across the table so Hunk could take it.

Keith went back to explaining stuff to the princess and Hunk looks at his two friends with a relieved sigh. “You can never be too sure.”

The two rolled their eyes, though Lance did feel a little bit safer.

A forced laugh echoed the room suddenly, and the three turned to see princess Osah laughing while Keith was looking at her with a cute confused pout. Knowing Keith, he didn’t mean to say anything funny.

The princess leans into the table so her boob rose higher, showing more cleavage. Keith doesn’t notice this and doesn’t blink one at her action. Lance mentally cheered. Suck it Osah! That boy is a flaming homosexual!

“Wow, Keith really isn’t getting any hints.” Hunk pointed out.

Pidge shrugged. “Guess he’s not interested. He never actually responds to people flirting with him.”

“People flirt with him often?” Lance immediately asked, trying to hold back the fear in his voice.

“Yeah, I mean, he is attractive and of an unpopular species, so that causes mystery. It’s to be expected that aliens flirt with him.”

Lance’s mouth sets into a frown and his eyebrows furrow. If he is flirted with often, what if someone tries something while Lance isn’t around? What if Keith finds someone better than Lance? How many times will Lance have to stand back and watch his boyfriend be wooed?

“Hey man,” Came Hunk’s voice, another reassuring hand on his shoulder. “That doesn’t mean you’re not flirted with too. Anyone would be lucky to woo you.”

Lance strained a smile at Hunk’s attempt to make him feel better. “Thanks Hunk.”

When he looked back that the duo, Keith was staring right at him. Navy eyes sparkled and pink tinted lips curved upwards, it made Lance’s own face soften, smiling back and he gave a wink. Keith’s grin grew at the gesture but the moment was ruined when the princess demanded for his attention.

Keith turned away and Lance felt his stomach plumet a little, but then Keith flashed another look towards him and rolled his eyes referring to the princess’ needy demand. Lance lightly chuckled and Keith’s face told him just how much Lance didn’t have to worry.

 

That night, Lance laid in bed, facing the ceiling of the dark room. Images of princess Osah getting close to Keith filtering in his brain, a constant reminder that he will have to deal with Keith being flirted with by the time they come out.

The door to his room hissed quietly as it opened, the faint light of the hallway streaming in. A figure shuffled in, hunched over and dragging his feet. Keith fell onto the bed with a huff, slowly crawling under the covers.

“Hey.” Lance said softly into the silent night.

Keith wrapped his arms around his waist and settled his head on his chest. Black hair tickled Lance’s chin, but he snuggled into the locks anyways, taking in the flowery scent of his shampoo.

“Hey.” Keith mumbles back. “The meeting was so annoying. The princess kept doing weird stuff and I was ready to leave within ten minutes of discussing the coalition to her. I swear, she wasn’t even paying attention.”

Lance drew circles on Keith’s exposed skin. “That’s because she had the hots for you, sweetheart.”

Keith looked up at Lance and gave him a scrunched up expression. Lance used his other hand to smooth the creases in his forehead.

“What do you mean?”

His tone was so confused that it made Lance chuckle, admiring how Keith’s nose wrinkled at his reaction.

“She was flirting with you, babe.”

Keith pursed his lips and Lance could tell he was going back to the exchange to find any evidence.

“Are you sure?”

“Is it really hard to know that someone other than me finds you attractive?” Lance teased, now drawing stars into the pale skin.

Keith frowned and looked to the side as he thought, a light blush colouring his cheeks. “I didn’t even think you would find me attractive. It just confuses me.”

Lance smiles softly and let a hand run through Keith’s dark locks before turning his head so their eyes could meet.

“You are the most beautiful person in the world, sweetheart. I’d be offended if other people don’t think the same.”

Keith’s eyes widened at the compliment and buried his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder. Keith let out a groan, to which Lance happily laughed at.

“Stop doing that.” Keith mumbled into his skin.

“Doing what?” Lance smirked. “I’m just telling the truth. Like how you are beautiful, adorable, smart,” There was another groan. “Pretty, talented, and of course, smoking hot.”

Keith smacked his side, causing Lance to let out an ‘oof’. He drew back to glare dark eyes at the smirking Lance, black hair falling to frame his face.

“I’m serious,” Keith threatened. “Stop.”

Lance hummed, appreciating how beautiful his boyfriend was even in the dark.

“Make me.” He dared.

Keith shook his head, but the corners of his mouth twitched up. “You’re such a cliche.” Then he leaned down to connect their lips.

It was soft and lazy, both tired from the day’s events. Lance’s toes curled as he hummed into the kiss, wrapping his arms securely around Keith, who dug his fingers into Lance’s hair.

This was worth the wait.

* * *

**2**

  
“I look stupid.”

Lance rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s remark straightening the black bowtie and smoothing the wrinkles on the white dress shirt. The shirt fitted him perfectly, hugging every curve and strong line of his body.

Lance turned him around to face the full length mirror and took a few steps back in the castle’s fitting room to admire the man. Especially his butt, like seriously, those pants did wonders.

“Stop looking at my butt!” Keith exclaimed, face flushed red.

Lance smirked and walked over to him to put his hands around slender hips, eyes half lidded as he took in Keith’s image in the mirror. “Can’t help admiring a beauty such as your butt.”

Keith pouted, his face becoming even more red and his body was stiff under Lance’s wandering gaze.

“Why do I have to do this? You know I’m not a good flirt.” Keith complained, shifting uncomfortably in the outfit for the day’s mission.

“Oh you definitely aren’t a good flirt.” Lance agreed and Keith jutted him in the stomach. “Ow. Anyways, Pidge is too young, Hunk can’t keep a secret for the life of him and Allura and Shiro called dibs to not do it.” Keith rolled his eyes at that. “And no matter how much I’d love to do this instead, I’m kinda home bound for right now.”

He gestured to his leg that was wrapped heavily in bandages, enough to be thick as a book. It made Lance limp as he walked and drove him insane when it itched.

Just a week ago, the team was on a mission to infiltrate Lobos inc., a chemical plant that was working with Zarkon. They were producing a chemical that will threaten lives of citizens and possibly planets, the team just had to find out what the ingredients were.

It was going well at first, but then they were found out. Explosions happened and Lance’s leg was crushed by debris. The healing pods were only able to do so much, so now Lance was practically grounded until he fully healed.

They didn’t find any helpful information either.

Keith’s frown deepened at the mention of his leg, having been very distraught over the injury, even more so than Lance was. According to Hunk, Keith stayed in the med bay at all times for the two days he was in there, only leaving for food and the washroom. What was surprising was that the team still didn’t even consider Keith’s act was because they were dating.

Lance stepped away to grab the jacket off the rack and went to put it on Keith. The jacket also hugged his curves and Lance silently thanked whoever sewed this masterpiece.

“I have a tail.” Keith complained.

The tail of the jacket was forked in two triangles, which Lance was happy about since it still briefly showed hints of Keith’s butt.

“Every penguin needs a tail, babe. You look great.” Lance assured, straightening the fabric.

Keith shifted in his arms to fully face him, his face worried and uncertain. He took the loops attached to Lance’s jeans and twiddled with them nervously.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I know if it’d be the other way I wouldn’t want to see you flirting with a criminal.”

Lance smiled softly, pulling Keith into him, not tight enough to cause wrinkles in the suit. “Don’t worry about me. As long as you’re okay with it, then I’m fine.”

Keith looked like he was about to argue further, but Lance put an end to it quickly. “Come on, we gotta fix your hair. Can’t woo a guy with a mullet.” He winked, then pulled Keith into a bathroom.

Lance and Coran were staying inside the castle, hovering over the planet, Karai, while the others went to the gala in a fancy building called Huji-po, a banquet facility that was hosting an event for growing businesses.

Pidge was situated in the security camera room, workers knocked out and tied up in a closet and Hunk was posing as a server as eyes for any interruptions. Allura and Shiro were dressed to the nines to distract the CEO’s of Logos inc. from talking to the owner, Ignius, leaving him for Keith.

Allura somehow looked even more beautiful than usual, dressed in a sparkling gold dress that flowed down her frame in waves, fabric shining every time she’d turn, hair tied in a tight ponytail. Shiro was dressed much similar to Keith, though his tail was longer and he had a gold pocket square of the same fabric of Allura’s dress.

They were dressed to be looked at, to draw attention so no one would notice Keith.

Then there was Lance, footage of the banquet hall provided from Pidge displayed on several screens as he sat in his seat of the control room. Coran was at the helm, watching for any galra ships that might show.

His biggest screen showed the closest footage of Keith and Ignius as possible. They were seated on the stools of the bar, right at the end, which meant he had a clear vision of the duo.

Ignius was more handsome than Lance was expecting, especially with a name like that. He looked heavenly human, brown skin, pine green hair braided losely, which ended at the small of his back. According to the reports he was 28 years old, his nose was thin along with his lips, and slanted eyes that were piercing crystal. The only significance of him being alien was him being seven feet tall and the horns jutting out of the edges of his shoulders that were the shape of shark teeth that reached his square jaw.

He looked like a tree that a shark bit into. But a handsome tree.

Keith was more handsome, though. Call Lance biased, but it was true by how he was given lingering gazes as soon as he entered the large room. His hair was tied into a low ponytail, Lance’s favourite hair style of his, and his cheeks were shining from the highlighter Lance put on.

It took everything in Lance to not gawk and actually pay attention.

“So, Steven,” a fake name Keith went by. “What is a creature like you being an intern at a labour factory?” Ignius’ voice was smooth and low as he talked, voice being received by the tiny microphone attached to Keith’s bowtie.

“Make him feel powerful.” Lance said into his microphone.

“Some of us can’t be a powerful owner of a business like yours.” Keith replied with the best suave voice he could muster, headphone chip deep into his ear.

The alien chuckled greedily. Yes, make him feel like he was the one with the upper hand.

“Maybe you can ditch that place to come join me.” Ignius then reached out to put a hand of Keith’s thigh.

Lance’s breath hitched, and so did Keith’s judged by how much he tensed at the unwelcomed touch. With a slow breath and a clutch of his hands, Lance shoved down his anger.

“Calm down, sweetheart.” He whispered, careful to not let Coran hear him. “If he has any decency, he won’t go any further in public. Cálmate amor.”

He watched as Keith’s image relaxed, turning away from the threatening hand to face the half lidded look the alien was giving him.

“Play hard to get.” Lance told him, while keeping an eye on the so far not moving hand that was sitting on his boyfriend’s thigh.

A smirk grazed Keith’s lips, the same one he gives Lance when he wins training sessions. “That depends. What can you give me that they can’t?”

Ignius smirked back, hand getting tighter on Keith’s thigh. “I can give you the attention you deserve. All the money you could ever ask for.”

“Ask about the money.” Lance said.

“And how can you get that much money exactly?” It’s a question that could be judgemental, but by how Keith delivered it it came off more challenging. Every business man loves a challenge.

Ignius takes his almost forgotten drink, swirling the dark liquid in a transfixed motion before taking a hefty gulp. He licked his thin lips, tongue unnaturally pink, letting them linger for show. “I got my people. If the next job does well, which it will, I’ll be loaded. Just you wait, honey, if you join now you’ll never have to lift a finger.”

“He’s talking about Zarkon.” Lance informed, even though it’s clear Keith already knew. “Ask about the job.”

“The job must be pretty big.” Keith took a sip of his own drink, something blue and sweet by how Keith ran this tongue across his teeth.

Ignius chuckled lowly. “You have no idea, honey. The client is a big deal.” His voice then took to a jokingly manner. “We’ll be mining and producing so much that the air will become a swamp of radioactivity.”

“For a tree you’d think he’d be a little more eco-friendly.” Mumbled Lance.

Keith held in a snort at the joke, lips loosely curled upwards for the first time that night as his chest shook with silent laughter. Ignius, oblivious, puffed out his chest as if he was the one to make Keith laugh. The fact made Lance feel smug at how naive the alien was to the truth.

Unfortunately, this made Ignius feel overly confident, giving him an opportunity to sneak his hand higher on Keith’s thigh. Keith flinched at the touch, hand automatically stopping the brown one from climbing any further. A frown began to settle on the alien’s face at the rejection, eyes furrowing in suspicion.

“Laugh it off, babe.” Lance told him, the anger from before threatening to surface in his chest.

Keith forced on a smile and took Ignius’ hand into both of his, fully taking the limb off his leg. “Sorry, it’s just that we’re in public right now.”

The smirk returned onto Ignus’ face, suspicion quickly fading away. “Then I guess we’ll just have to leave, hm?” He stood up after chugging down the rest of his drink, using his hand captured in Keith’s to pull him out of his own seat. He leaned in close and Lance watched with bated breath as Keith’s face scrunched up at the intense smell of booze.

“Allura, Shiro.” Lance said into the now open channels. “Are you almost done? We’re kind of in a rush right now.”

“Allura is currently trying to find out the ingredients of the chemicals,” Shiro responded with. “We need about ten more minutes.”

“We don’t have ten minutes.” Lance urged. “Within two minutes the Ignius guy will be dragging Keith into a dark corner to get a smooch on.” His voice was filled with ugly hatred despite trying to hide it as he watched Keith being whisked across the banquet hall.

“I guess we have enough information to start figuring it out ourselves. Let Hunk know we’re a go.”

Lance nodded despite not being seen by anyone but a concerned Coran. “Hunk, we’re a go. Keith is heading towards the left wing. Spill a drink on the tree guy or something.”

“Tree guy?” Asked Hunk in a somewhat amused tone.

“Tell me he doesn’t look like a tree, Hunk.”

“Drink it is.”

Lance watched with amusement and hidden smugness as Hunk ‘accidently’ spilled red drinks all over Ignius’ fancy suit. Keith faked his surprise, already overheard the conversation, and promised Ignius to come back with napkins.

Ignius tried to make Keith stay but he was already diving into the crowd and was stopped from following by a profusely apologizing Hunk. The screen showed Keith subtly nodding towards Shiro and Allura who were talking with the CEO’s, then continuing to get out of the banquet hall at the right wing.

Allura and Shiro said their goodbyes and followed, Hunk joining a minute later. Lance followed the trio down the halls, Pidge directing them to where the exit was.

“No one is following,” Pidge assured. “Though that Ignius guy looks pissed that he can’t find Keith.”

“You mean, Steven.” Keith corrected. “Keith is too good for an ass like him.”

Lance let out a laugh.

It took everything in Lance not to pounce Keith when he got back. He had to suffer a full two hours of debriefing while stealing glances at the way Keith’s bowtie was untied, hanging around his neck, shirt slightly unbuttoned and hair in a messy bun. Sweat covered his face and matted his hair, but all Lance wanted to do was to push him against a wall and kiss those chapped lips of his.

So Lance pushed Keith into his room and did just that plus more.

* * *

**3**

  
If Lance thought Valentine’s Day was the most love filled day in the universe, he was poorly mistaken.

The Librior festival on planet Serion was an event that takes up the entire planet that was about two times larger than Earth, according to Pidge. The european styled streets were filled with singing and dancing couples, streamers and banners littering the buildings and plant life. Aliens were selling local flowers and other romantic necessities, causing lines to fork into the bustling crowds.

Aliens of different cultures and planets travelled from all over the universe to join the festivities. A month long festival packed with several different species to forget about any hate and just celebrate the love that is shared among millions.

The paladins were invited to join when they saved the planet from the galra, so naturally they agreed to join for a day. They were all excited to see the event that was so universally appreciated, especially Coran and Allura who haven’t been but have heard many stories.

“My cousin met his wife here.” Allura told them as they walked the streets. “He rode the Yumir but was knocked off within a tic. His wife lasted a full two doboshes, which was a very big deal. He fell in love right there.”

“What’s a Yumir?” Hunk asked, avoiding a couple who were making out against a lamppost.

Coran jumped in, explaining how it was a ‘mighty beast’ that you would ride as competition for who could stay on it the longest.

“So a bull.” Pidge said

Coran and Allura both blinked at the mention of the unfamiliar word.

“Yes?” Allura said slowly with uncertainty.

“Do they have food here?” Lance inquired before the Alteans could ask more about bulls.

“Yeah, I’d like a find something to drink.” Hunk said while waving a hand as a fan. “It’s getting hot in these suits.”

“There’s an eating area a block away from here if you wanna go.” Said Allura. “We can split up as long as we all stay within the main city.”

That was all they had to hear for them all to split off. Lance dragged Hunk over towards the general direction where the food might’ve been, the rest of the paladins heading off at the opposite direction.

They wandered down the streets as they ate, both have gotten space lemonade and shared a bowl of fries that taste like vanilla pudding. They passed by vendors selling trinkets and offering marriage ceremonies. It was nice to see all the couples roaming, holding hands, or paws, or claws, and laughing in the cheerful atmosphere.

Watching them made Lance long for Keith to be by his side, to hold his hand as vendors try to convince them that they need their products to love each other. Maybe he should’ve just forgotten about the food and whisked Keith away before anyone noticed, but it was nice to hang out with Hunk after so long with being busy with saving the universe.

Was it so selfish for him to want to leave Hunk to be with his secret boyfriend? Maybe if they just would tell the others then maybe Lance wouldn’t be so hesitant to do so much with Keith alone. It didn’t matter though, they made an agreement to tell the others once they were certain their relationship was going to last.

Well, Lance was certain, but he was willing to wait for Keith to feel fully comfortable.

“Soulmate ribbons! Get your soulmate ribbons here!” Yelled a vendor from a booth draped in pink fabric, a colour that has been very prominent throughout the festival.

Lance found himself being lured towards the booth, Hunk blindly following so he wouldn’t be lost within the crowd. They both tossed their garbage out in a trash can on their way over.

The vendor was a short lady with wrinkles that matched a tortoise, skin a pale orange and looked vaguely like a female version of Voldemort.

She gave him a wide smile of sharp, crooked teeth when he approached, gesturing to the racks holding strips of different coloured ribbon. Some had gems lining the thin fabric, others had lace, varied designs painted on them, and even bells that you would find on a cat’s collar.

“Why hello there.” The woman greeted, voice wavering but still kind. “Do you have someone you’d consider a soulmate, youngling?”

Her eyes were a warm grey, welcoming and trusting. “Um, well I don’t know if soulmates actually exist-”

“But would you like them too?” The woman interrupted to ask.

Lance crossed his arms, suddenly feeling stupid to just let them hang at his sides. “I think it’d be nice if they did. I mean, why wouldn’t I?”

The lady nodded then looked over to Hunk who was standing just a little bit behind him. “Are you two partners?”

The duo spluttered at the woman’s question.

“No!” Lance practically shouted, earning some looks when he did. Lance coughed and lowered his voice. “No, ma’am.”

“Yeah,” Hunk put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “We’re best friends though.”

The woman nodded again. “You too both have partners. I can feel it.”

Lance’s eyes widened, heart dropping in his stomach. Will his secret with Keith be completely ruined by some random alien lady that could possibly be trying to scam them with her ‘soulmate ribbons’? Was that really all it took?

“I, uh,” Hunk began with a startled stutter. “I sort of have someone, but we’re not official yet. Long distance and stuff.” His voice trailed off as he spoke, face red with embarrassment.

The lady hummed and turned to grab a brilliant orange and red ombre ribbon that looked like a sunrise. She laid it flat on the table in front of her so they could see clearly, a black painted sun in the very middle of the ribbon.

“Give this to her,” Began the lady, voice soothing. “And it’ll be a promise of your next return.”

Hunk took it in his hands, the strip of fabric tiny in his large hands. “How much do I owe you?”

The lady waved him off. “You saved this planet, you’ve done well enough.”

“I can’t accept-”

“Yes, you can.” Then she turned to fully face Lance, making him flinch at the sudden attention, hairs rising at her calculating gaze. “Now you. You have a very interesting relationship with your partner. Very strong and unbreakable. Though, it is uncertain at the same time, new, but it has been festering.”

Lance waited with bated breath, ignoring the confused look Hunk was giving him, instead having his eyes glued on the old woman. She was grabbing something from the back and returned with a ribbon of the softest lavender colour he’s ever seen, reminding him of flowers in Cuba.

“Lavender, in many cultures, is the colour of eternal love. A ribbon I don’t give out often, to be honest.”

He stared at the ribbon, as if waiting for it to do a trick, a flip maybe, anything that would confirm that he was dreaming. Nothing happened, the object didn’t move and Lance was stuck with the two words repeating itself in his head, getting louder and louder.

_Eternal love._

“Dude,” Lance flinched, not realizing that his best friend leaned in close. “Take it.”

Lance was hesitant, slowly reaching for the threatening fabric and taking it delicately in his hands. It felt like ribbon you would get from the dollar store, giving more evidence that the vendor was in fact scamming them, her words only lucky guesses, especially since they were at a festival celebrating love itself. She was the fortune teller of the alien world, it was up to the customer to decide if it was real or not.

The duo thanked the woman, giving her a tip despite her protests, both holding their ribbons carefully in their hands.

“Is your partner Allura?” Hunk asked as they made their way to find the others.

Lance took a deep breath in, then out, hope of Hunk not mentioning it draining quickly. “I don’t know.” He lied, gaze set in front of him, careful to not get lost in the masses of aliens.

“Have you told her you like her yet?” Hunk asked and Lance understood his friend’s curiosity, but he really didn’t want to crawl his way out of this.

“No.” Lance said simply, not explaining how he didn’t like her anymore, and hasn’t for a long time.

Hunk was panting, trying to catch up to Lance who just realized how fast he was actually walking. Lance muttered out an apology and Hunk waved it off.

“It couldn’t be anyone else, thought, right? I mean, you got lavender which is blue and red combined. That can’t be a coincidence.”

Lance bit his tongue when he was about to mention how Keith was originally the red paladin. There probably wasn’t a coincidence, considering how Lance and Keith were always being pulled towards each other no matter how hard they restrain the force. Even a rivalry couldn’t tear them apart for long.

“I don’t know, Hunk. It’s probably nothing.” Lance hopped off a curb and headed into a park where music began to get increasingly louder as they got closer to what seemed like a dance party of sorts.

“Are you gonna give it to her?”

Lance huffed an amused laugh, nothing spiteful, just out of pure humour. “Not a chance.” He already had someone who he’s gonna give it to, and that person was currently dancing with Pidge on the dancefloor, a smile clear as the sun on his face.

“But this will give you a chance to finally tell her.” Hunk argued.

Lance held in a groan. “It’s okay, buddy. Lets just enjoy the day, yeah?”

Hunk nodded reluctantly, if he wanted to push further he was unable to when Coran popped into view.

“Ah, boys, glad you found us. Did you see the market?”

The boys nodded. “We got soulmate ribbons.” Hunk said.

Coran’s eyes lit up at that, which meant he knew what they were, which meant that Lance should’ve walked away sooner.

“Soulmate ribbons are a big deal when it comes to this festival. Every seller are able to read auras which tell them if a customer has a soulmate or not. It’s quite fascinating really.”

So it wasn’t a scam. That fact created a warmth in his stomach, making him smile as he glanced over Coran’s shoulder to see Keith spinning Pidge in circles.

“Do you mind if I see what the seller gave you?” Coran asked, shifting so Lance’s view was cut off.

“Sure.” Said Hunk as he held up his ribbon.

“Ah, a promise of return ribbon.” Coran explained with a soft smile. He then turned to look at Lance expectantly.

“Hm? Oh.” He held his lavender ribbon out and watched as Coran’s expression turned surprised.

“How-” Coran started but Lance interrupted him with a pat on his shoulder, which earned a calculating look from the older man.

“Anyways, lets go dance!” Lance practically bolted over to the green and black paladins, giving them both a large smile. Keith’s smile widened when he saw Lance, eyes softening.

Tonight. He’ll give it too Keith tonight.

As the sun descended, the booming music would switch to slow songs, couples swaying in each other’s arms softly. Lance was itching to drag Keith to the dance floor and pull him close, to speak in hushed tones in each other’s ear, to hold him tight and not wanting to let go.

The song was instrumental, what sounded like piano and violin coming from a band that stood on a platform. Allura dragged Keith onto the dancefloor, hands clasped, Allura’s hand on his shoulder and his on her waist. They were a respectful distance from each other, looking like pre-teens at a school dance.

They were talking, and by them he meant Allura with Keith adding in his few cents. Lance couldn’t hear what they were saying, but by the nostalgic expression on Allura’s face, she’s probably telling him stories.

Lance was sitting on a hill, holding his legs close to his chest, as he watched them circle in the same spot. He was fiddling with the ribbon, unconsciously twirling it around his fingers repeatedly. Coran and Shiro were dancing with a small group of children, hands connected to create a circle as they opened and closed the space between them. Pidge and Hunk came to sit on either side of him with their legs criss-crossed.

“You look like a sad puppy.” Pidge told him bluntly.

Lance scoffed, changing his features to erase the expression she saw on him. “Why would I be sad?”

Pidge nudged him in the side with a mischievous grin. “Probably because Keith is dancing with your soulmate.”

Lance’s eyes widened and whipped his head to look at a guilty Hunk who was trying to hide his head in his shoulders.

“You told her?!” Lance squawked.

Hunk smiled sheepishly. “I figured she could push you to tell Allura.”

Lance dramatically groaned. “Hunk, I already told you, I don’t want to tell her.”

“Come one, Lance.” Pidge said. “You have been watching Allura the whole time she was dancing with Keith.”

He was watching Keith, not Allura, but of course they don’t know that.

“I was just thinking, okay? I just happened to be watching them.” He tried to defend himself, turning his gaze back to the dancing duo.

“Yeah,” Pidge agreed. “Thinking about dancing with Allura.”

Lance huffed, he was done with this. “I don’t want to dance with her and I definitely don’t want to give her this ribbon.” His voice was cold, a tone Lance didn’t want but made anyways.

His friends shared a concerned look, but Lance was not paying any attention, eyes focused to the laughing children being spun by a happy Coran and Shiro. His hand clutched the lavender ribbon in his hand and his friends didn’t dare bring it up again.

The team retired into the castle at around midnight, castle sitting on a clearing surrounded by trees just a little ways from the main city. The festival was still continuing, lasting all night, but the team were exhausted from all the action of the day.

Pidge and Hunk avoided him, but still gave him worried looks. Lance ignored them, heading straight to his bedroom with only a goodnight towards Keith. When he plopped onto his bed, already dressed in his pajamas, he stared at the ceiling and pulled his covers in close.

The whole night, Lance wasn’t able to dance with Keith one on one. Instead, he watched his boyfriend dance with the rest of the team and even some strangers despite being very uncomfortable with them. It was amusing as he watched Keith lean away from random aliens who were getting too close.

Just thinking of Keith made him want to see him and his fluffy hair, intense eyes, and small smile. He’s probably sleeping already - hah, no he’s not.

Lance stood up from his bed, now determined, and headed next door to Keith’s room. He didn’t even bother to knock, the first thing he saw was Keith wearing his red pajama pants and his shirt was held in his hands ready to be put on. Keith’s face turned red at being caught shirtless and the redness deepened when Lance took the time to trace his abs with blue eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Keith asked, shirt clutched tight in his grip.

Lance smirked and walked closer, door sliding closed behind him. “Just thought you might wanna join me.”

Keith tilted his head in that kitten way he always did when confused. “Join you in what? It’s the middle of the night.”

Lance stepped closer, taking Keith’s wrists in his hands. “I wasn’t able to dance with you all day. It’s time to fix it.”

Keith furrowed his brows in further confusion but Lance noticed the slightest incline on his lips. “Dance? I don’t think Allura would be pleased if she found out we snuck out of the castle.”

Lance rubbed his thumbs over Keith’s wrists. “We can dance right here. No music needed.”

Keith’s lips loosened into a light grin, a grin that would be a beaming one on anyone else. “Lemme put my shirt on first.”

“Are you sure? I’d be happy if you left it off.” He earned a smack at that and he rubbed his arm with a playful pout as Keith quickly pulled on his black shirt.

“You’re mean.” Lance pouted, taking Keith into his arms and started to sway them around in circles.

A corner of Keith’s lips lifted and his devilish eyes sparkled in the fluorescent lighting. “I wanted to dance with you too.”

Lance’s spluttered at the sudden affection, face heating up quickly as Keith chuckled softly at the reaction. Lance’s heart clutched at the gentle sound, hands tightening around Keith’s hand and waist.

“I think I love you.” He blurted out.

Keith took a sharp inhale of breath, eyes widening in shock and mouth slightly agape. “Wha-what?” His voice was small and they stopped moving.

Lance let himself take a grounding breath, hands shaking with nerves from the unexpected confession. “I think I love you, Keith. I can’t stop thinking about you and I never want to leave your side.”

Lance glanced at their intertwined hands and back to the pools of navy that Lance could never get used to seeing. He used his hand that was around Keith’s waist to reach into his pocket, taking out the lavender ribbon.

He held it up for Keith to see. “The vendor lady said it’s a soulmate ribbon. She also said that lavender is the colour of eternal love.” Keith’s eyes were stuck on the fabric as he explained. “She said I had that. So, yeah, I think I love you.”

Keith looked up at him, intense eyes peeling away every layer in Lance as to confirm his words as truth. Lance smiled softly, taking his hand to tie the ribbon in a neat bow around his wrist.

“You don’t have to say it back.” Lance told him in a whisper. “Tell me when you’re ready, please. I don’t want to force you.”

Keith huffed out a laugh and it was then that he noticed that those dark pools were glossy as he gleams up at Lance. He then leaned in to connect their lips and moved them slowly. They wrapped their arms tight around each other to show just how desperate they were for each other. They parted with a quiet pop of their wet lips.

“You’re so perfect.” Keith whispered in the small space between them.

Lance smiled lovingly. “You only say the truth, sweetheart.”

Keith rolled his eyes playfully and scoffed, but leaned in again to place a chaste kiss. He then digged his head into Lance’s shoulder, so Lance began to sway them back and forth, dancing in the dim room to the silent music.

* * *

**4**

  
Lance was a romantic. He always loved listening to his parents when they told him stories of their relationship. When Luis started dating his now wife, Lance was quick to ask him questions about their dates. It filled him with joy that maybe one day he would have the same thing.

Now he has it and it was more than the stories could ever tell or explain.

The thing was, when the store owner of a technology parts shop began to tell the paladins how much he loved his wife, it got annoying.

The alien was green with a round, flat face with bug eyes. He was short and was wearing cream robes, frog-like hands clasped together as he dreamily told them how beautiful his wife’s feet were.

“She has twelve warts. I count them every night.” His voice was soft and he let out a sigh.

Lance tried to not gag at the image.

Despite his descriptions being very disturbing, it was kind of sweet how he blabbed on about his wife at every chance he got, taking pride of her being his. It showed just how much he loved her even though she sounded very ugly by his descriptions.

It honestly made Lance a bit jealous that he couldn’t do the same for Keith. He wanted to talk about how amazing he was to his friends for hours. Tell them how soft his hair was, how he kisses the small mole on Keith’s pale shoulder, how if natural light hits his eyes just right they looked purple.

Lance looked to the side to see Keith standing close to his side with a revolted expression on his face as the alien got into detail about the warts. Even with a scrunched up face that created triple chins, Keith still looked beautiful.

Lance reached out his hand to connect their pinkies, movement slow to not draw any attention. Keith flinched at the sudden touch, looking down at their intertwined pinkies then up at Lance’s face. Surprise crossed his features when he saw the soft gaze Lance was giving him, face relaxing and his lips tilted upwards when he returned the smile and lidded eyes.

He wanted to wrap Keith in his arms, to show that he was his. To show that they were together and that he was proud of that fact just like the store owner was with his wife. By how Keith’s eyes turned slightly sad, he knew that Lance wanted that. There was a mutual understanding that this was what they both longed for, but in due time.

Instead, they looked back to the alien as he began drawing a picture of his wife, pinkies connected and shoulders brushing. Grins that were not there before showing happily.

When the paladins finally escaped the chattering store owner, bag filled with supplies being carried by a tired Shiro, Pidge and Hunk were complaining about the intimate information they unwillingly received.

“I think it’s kinda cute.” Lance told them, stepping slightly closer to Keith as they walked over to the mall exit.

Pidge huffed. “Of course you do, Mr. Romantic.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Not like you know anything about love, Pidge podge.”

“And you do?” Pidge questioned.

Lance’s eyes subconsciously glanced over to Keith who was stubbornly looking straight ahead, but you could tell he was listening closely.

“I’d like to think so.”

Pidge gave him a strange look but then Hunk started to talk about the awful drawing the store owner drew.

Lance saw Keith trying to hide a wide smile.

* * *

**5**

  
At first, it was hilarious to see Keith and Allura pretending to be in love to appease the citizens of Phok. It wasn’t their plan to fake the relationship, but when emperor Keni asked excitedly if any of them were in a relationship, Allura was desperate enough to get the Phok to join the coalition that she picked the closest person near her, Keith, to be her fake boyfriend.

The paladins were all shocked when Allura tightly announced it, harshly grasping Keith’s hands who was very shocked and confused. Lance watched as right when Keith was about to question her, Allura squeezed his hand hard enough to make him wince.

Allura refused to let go of Keith’s hand as the emperor walked them through the halls of the castle as if holding hands was the only thing you could do in a relationship. Keith looked very uncomfortable the whole time, stiff whenever Allura tried to convince the emperor that they were actually in love by calling him sweet names.

“It was a recent thing,” Allura explained to the interested emperor. “We confessed to each other about a month ago, right pooky?”

Keith flinched when Allura nudged him because he wasn’t responding. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. It was super romantic and...stuff.”

The others tried their very best to hide their amusement and attempted to act like the affection was normal. Though Lance and Pidge both sometimes couldn’t handle their spurts of laughter, which resulted in both Keith and Allura glaring at them for seperate reasons.

When the emperor left to leave the team to their own devices, Keith immediately retracted his hand from Allura and took a step away from her. His whole body seemed to relax and he let out a sigh of relief.

He then narrowed his eyes at a slightly guilty looking Allura. “What was that?”

‘What?” Lance asked with a smirk, arms crossed lazily. “Don’t like the attention, pooky?”

Keith scowled at him, crossing his own arms. “Shut up.”

“I apologize, Keith.” Allura said with a frown. “We just really need them to join the coalition. They really appreciate love and it would be easier to get them to join this way.”

Keith pouted and it was very difficult for Lance to not coo at how cute he was.

“But why me?”

Allura shrugged and attempted a smile. “You were closest to me.”

Keith let out a long sigh.

“Hey, it just has to be tonight.” Allura comforted. “But you have to at least put in some effort. I was doing all the work during the tour.”

“Yeah, Keith.” Lance chided. “Gotta be a good boyfriend.”

Keith glared at his real partner as Pidge chuckled from beside Lance.

“I’m surprised that you are even okay with this, Lance.” Pidge nudged him.

Pidge and Hunk still haven’t brought up what happened at the love festival when he snapped at them, though he did notice them looking at him with confusion if he didn’t flirt with Allura. During the tour, they were sharing looks when Lance didn’t show an ounce of jealousy and only amusement.

Lance shrugged. “It’s fun to tease McMullet. I mean, you were so uncomfortable.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Call me when we have to go to the dinner.” He began to walk away towards his assigned bedroom when Allura stopped him.

“Actually, Keith, I was thinking of going over things we could do to further convince the Phok of our relationship. They have a lot of rules that we can’t ignore.”

Keith looked so affronted and terrified that Lance and the others couldn’t help but laughing loudly.

So apparently, couples are not aloud to dance with anyone else. They are also forced to dance whether they liked it or not for at least five songs. So there they were, dancing in the middle of a crowd of bird-like Phoks who kept staring at Keith and Allura as if they looked realistically in love.

Lance could tell that Keith was trying to have conversation with Allura, but was getting distracted by all the large, black eyes that followed their every move. It made Lance want to go over there and take Keith from Allura to dance with him instead. Maybe that’ll calm Keith down, but he can’t, so he doesn’t.

This is when Lance ‘s amusement dwindles to disappointment and jealousy. He was looking forward to the night to talk to Keith and maybe get him a little tipsy from whatever he was holding in his hand at that moment. It burns when going down his throat but he greedily welcomes the feeling.

Lance is stuck sitting at a table with the other paladins as they talk about the huge and well built treehouses that the Phok live in. He was only half listening to the conversation, paying attention to the way Keith lead Allura around the dance floor, Lance randomly pulling him into dancing paying off.

“Since they are birds, does that mean their houses are birdhouses?”

“Hunk, you just figured that out?” Pidge inquired.

“Be nice, Pidge.” Shiro chided but without much heat.

“Hey Pidge,” Lance grinned. “We should build you a birdhouse in the castle. You know, since you’re a pigeon.”

“You little-”

“Pidge.” Shiro cut her off with his stern voice, making Pidge to snap her mouth shut before sticking her tongue out at a smirking Lance.

The conversation then turned to something else and Lance stopped paying attention. He looked up to see Allura and Keith not on the dance floor so he frantically searches for them before spotting them standing near the wall talking to the emperor, his green feathers puffed out.

Keith had his hand of Allura’s lower back, something he does with Lance a lot. He longed for the ability to show off his relationship like they were doing in their fake one. To dance in the center of attention, to have people following your every move because they are so devoted to your love. It was a nice thought of having that, but he’s not sure when that will ever happen.

Lance’s eyes widened when he was caught by Keith who was now looking straight at him. There was a tilt on Keith’s lips, barely noticeable unless if you knew him well enough to see. Lance smiled back, but wide enough to show his teeth.

Keith then jerked his head to the side and mouthed ‘five minutes’. Lance, confused, turned to see where Keith gestured to. The door to exit the room. Giddiness ran through his veins as he nodded with understanding, chest warming up at the knowledge that Keith also wants alone time. With him.

Keith turned back towards the two sided conversation, stance slightly more comfortable.

Five minutes later and everything was hands, teeth and tongue, pushing, pulling and biting desperately. Their chest plates clang as they attempt to get closer, Lance pushed up against a wall behind a thick pillar. All the pent up feelings of being seperated all night were showing full force as they kissed all over each other’s faces. Lips, nose, cheek, neck, everywhere.

“I wanna tell them.” Lance whispers before Keith could go back into his mouth.

Keith froze, leaning back enough to be able to look at Lance without him being blurry. “The team?”

Lance nodded, eyes determined and not an ounce of hesitance in his gaze.

Keith is quiet for awhile, eyes flickering and nose slightly scrunched up as he thought. “I noticed you can’t stop looking at me lately.” He said, changing the subject.

Lance hid the disappointment on his face and gripped Keith’s waist tightly. “Oh I was always staring, you just recently started to notice.”

Keith was about to retort when he heard a gasp. They swiveled their heads to see a red Phok staring wide eyes at them, beak gaping as they stared at Lance and Keith’s intertwined bodies which were both flushed from making out. The Phok was then running away after letting out a squawk, heading to the ballroom.

“Well we’re screwed.” Lance said.

“Please don’t tell the emperor.” Keith pleaded despite the alien being long gone.

Lance sighed with disappointment as Keith stepped back to create what looked like a gaping space between them. It took everything in him to not pull Keith right back in.

“We should go back inside in case they tell anyone.” Keith said, though he didn’t move.

Lance took a step towards him, taking his hand, the one with the lavender ribbon hidden underneath the black suit. He leaned down to kiss his cheek, then led his boyfriend into the ballroom.

The same red Phok was standing stiff next to the Emperor as he talked to Allura, both seemed to be oblivious of what the Phok had seen. They walked close and Lance watched with amusement when Keith gave the alien a deadly glare, daring the Phok to tell them. When Keith started to slowly shake his head no, the Phok turned terrified, wings tightening around his frame.

When the emperor turned to him to ask what he needed, the Phok shook his head and hastily walked over to the bar. Lance held in a laugh, shoulder shaking as he did and Keith smirked proudly.

Keith leaned in slightly. “Continue later?”

Lance smiled softly. “I’ll be waiting.”

They stayed staring in each other’s eyes for another moment before Keith re-joined the emperor and Allura. Lance went back to the table with a smile.

* * *

**+1**

  
Lance was seething.

Some handsome alien was flirting with Keith with absolute no shame. Hands lingered on Keith’s shoulders, face getting so close that Keith would have to take a full step back.

The alien was humanoid, similar light skin but covered with inked tattoos all over, stopping at the beginning of his neck. He was slim with lean muscle wearing an outfit that made his look like a cowboy without the hat. The fabric clung to his body and he was a foot taller than Keith and had deep green eyes climbing every inch of Keith’s figure.

The team went out to a space bar for a chance to relax, counter lining every wall with stools to sit at. The room was dim with colourful lights moving over the mass of aliens dancing to the pop songs. Lance was sitting on one of the stools with Shiro at his side, Hunk and Pidge dancing in the crowd.

Keith was in the crowd as well, he was stopped by the alien when he was coming back from the washroom. The alien was a wall, blocking Keith from getting to Lance and Shiro, and it also obstructed most of his view of Keith. At first it seemed like friendly conversation, but that is clearly over with.

His boyfriend looked very uncomfortable under the lingering gaze of the alien, fiddling with the lavender ribbon that was still tied around his wrist, normally hidden inside his glove.

Lance was itching to jump in to save Keith, but he knew he could easily handle himself. So, Lance waited, legs twitching eagerly, watching for any sign that Keith will need help to get away.

The alien stepped closer and Keith couldn’t move anymore because of the large mass of people preventing his escape. Lance shifted in his seat so he was further on the edge, Shiro obliviously took a sip of his beverage next to him as he faced the opposite direction.

Then there was a shout from Keith and Lance was on his feet, stomping his way to the duo. He took the alien’s arm and forced him to turn around to face him. Green eyes narrow down at him, but blue eyes scathe as they burned through the other.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lance’s voice was dangerous, a tone that he never thought he could make.

The alien frowned as he assessed Lance. “Nothing you need to know. Get outta here, rut.”

Lance stepped closer to be right in the alien’s face. “Oh, I do need to know. Cause I’m not gonna let you get any closer to my boyfriend.”

The alien’s eyes widened at the revelation, but soon settled. He turned his head to face Keith who was watching the exchange with surprise.

“Is this guy telling the truth?”

Keith smirked at that and walked around him to stand beside Lance. “He is. So back off.”

The alien rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. “And what will you do if I don’t?” He glared at Lance. “You look like I could snap you in two with a flick of my finger. You don’t deserve someone like him.”

Lance felt his blood boil at being looked down upon by some random guy. Little did he know that Lance was a paladin of Voltron. Punching people was a part of his job. So he punched him, just to show who he was messing with, to show him that he’s made a mistake.

They got kicked out before anything could escalate. On the bright side, seeing the alien’s bloodied flabbergasted expression was entirely worth the trouble, pride filling his chest when he noticed a crooked nose.

Shiro only saw the very end of the exchange and he lectured Lance heavily on not picking fights with other aliens accompanied by a disappointed Allura. Hunk looked very worried, fussing over Lance’s bloodied and bruised knuckles. Pidge just looked extremely amused, puffs of laughter coming out as Shiro and Allura continued to lecture Lance.

Keith was quiet the whole walk to the pod they took to get to the planet. Every once and awhile, Lance would catch him looking at him with a strange expression that Lance couldn’t decipher. Lance just hoped he wasn’t mad. It wasn’t his intention to make Keith unhappy and he could only hope that Keith will forgive him.

“Why’d you punch him in the first place?” Pidge questioned, interrupting Shiro and Allura.

Lance frowned at that, the reasoning for his brutal action never fully settling in. That guy wanted Keith all to himself. Probably to push him into a corner of the dark building to put his grimy hands all over Keith. Anger sizzled in his veins at the very thought of that happening and the edges of it showed in his voice.

“The guy was getting too close to Keith.”

“What do you mean?” Shiro asked, concern now evident on his face as he glanced at Keith who was avoiding his stare.

“He was flirting with him and wouldn’t go away.” Lance explained.

Anger was shared through everyone at that along with a mixture of shock and disgust. They were a yelling mess after that, asking Keith if he was okay and threatening to find that alien and give him a piece of their mind.

A small grin showed on Keith as even Hunk told him he’ll crush the alien with Yellow.

When they got into the castle, Coran worriedly asked what happened when he saw Lance’s bloodied hand and overheard the team’s imaginative ideas of how to destroy the alien. Keith seemed very amused the whole time, adding in his own ideas.

“Hunk, why would we poison him?” Shiro asked. “It’s way too forgiving. How about we slowly cut him into pieces.”

“What if we throw him into a blender?” Pidge added.

“And then feed him to Polions.” Coran supplied, the paladins nodding even though they had no clue what that was.

“And then burn the Polions poop!” Allura said excitedly.

Lance chuckled. “This is sweet and all, but I gotta patch up my hand.” The others nodded as he walked out of the control room.

He reached the med office, a cot in the corner and cabinets shelves and lining the walls covered in multiple bottles, and took out the first aid kit when the door hissed open behind him. Lance turned to see Keith, standing at the doorway with his arms crossed, a slight frown on his lips.

“Did the others finally settle on a way to kill the guy?” Lance jokes.

Keith’s frown deepened and Lance gulped down his fear of being yelled at, of being hated.

“Why did you do that?”

Lance’s smile faltered and he turned back to the first aid kit to get out the healing cream, which was difficult with his injured hand. “Do what?” He asked dumbly.

Footsteps approached him and when they stopped it was deadly quiet from the tension. Lance took in a large breath and let it out slowly, careful to not let any sound out to disrupt the silence.

“Lance.” Keith’s voice was almost desperate and it made Lance clench the tube of cream.

“Can you help me with this?” Lance asked instead of answering.

There was a pause. “Sure.”

Lance nodded and sat on the cot, kit laying next to him. He distracted himself with opening the tube and getting out a small piece on cloth. A pale hand took the cloth from his hands and Lance finally looked up to see Keith already heading over to the sink.

“We’ll have to wash the blood off first.” Explained Keith as he ran the tap over the cloth and drained the water by twisting the fabric.

Keith came back and began to work on Lance’s hand, taking it into his own carefully and gently wiping at the cut skin. Lance watched as he worked, done with cleaning the blood and tossing away the dirty cloth to get a new one to apply the cream. Lance held in his winces as the clear cream burned his skin.

“Stay still.” Keith muttered under his breath when Lance flinched.

“Sorry.” Lance whispered. They didn’t say anything for a moment before Lance couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you mad?”

Keith’s hand paused for a moment before going back to cleaning. “No. Why would I be mad?”

Lance was able to relax, body becoming less tense. “I stepped in. I know you want to always be all ‘I can do it myself’, so I didn’t want to go too far.”

“Lance. Hey, babe, look at me.” Lance obliged and was surprised to see a smile on Keith’s face. “Thank you for doing that, but don’t worry about what happened. I like that you stepped in and was all protective. It was kinda hot.”

Heat flooded Lance’s face as Keith smirked down at him. “What?” He asked ineloquently.

“It was refreshing to see you like that. A real macho man.” Keith let out a breathy laugh as he said ‘macho’ but the sentiment was still there.

“So you’re not mad.”

Keith shook his head and put the tube of cream away. He then took a roll of gauze and unraveled some before wrapping it around Lance’s palm. “I’m just glad you’re okay. If the security didn’t come over when he did, who knows what could’ve happened.”

“Aww,” Lance sang. “You were worried about me?”

Keith’s eyes narrowed at the gauze as he continued to wrap them. “Yes.”

Lance was surprised by the sudden confession, but then smirked when he noticed the slight blush on Keith’s cheeks.

“Is it because you don’t want to kiss someone with a black eye?” He teased.

Keith finished wrapping his hand and clipped it to stay. He looked up to lock their eyes, navy swirling under the fake lights. He reached up to cup Lance’s face, rubbing his thumb over his cheek.

“Because I love you.” He whispered.

Oh.

“Oh.”

Keith chuckled softly at Lance’s reaction and leaned down to place a light kiss on the speechless boy’s lips.

Lance gulped. “I like that reason much better.”

Keith’s smile widened and Lance leaned in, very happy that he decided to punch that guy in the face.

When they entered the lounge, the team were all settled on the couches.

“It’s unbelievable that it even happened.” Hunk is saying when they walked in.

“Are you still talking about how to hurt the guy?” Lance said, gaining everyone’s attention. “That’s kinda evil for a group of heroes.”

Everyone looked at each other as if they knew something, giving looks of uncertainty. It made him a bit anxious with the way they were looking at each other as if Lance wasn’t supposed to hear the conversation.

Pidge finally turned to look at Lance and Keith who were still standing near the door, closer than normal. “We were placing bets on if you two are dating or not.”

“Pidge!” The others protest, clearly not wanting the truth to come out.

Lance was frozen, eyes wide and heart pounding in his chest. They were found out. They know before they could even tell them. All because Lance punched a guy. It wasn’t like he regrets punching him, since he got Keith to say he loves him, but when he glances over to see Keith’s reaction his stomach plummets at the scared expression.

Lance messed up. And now Keith is going to deny the team of them ever having any romantic relationship, making Keith realize he doesn’t really love Lance and leave him.

“Actually,” Lance started and gulped harshly. “We’re-”

“Yes.” Keith interrupted, causing not only Lance to gape in surprise, but the team as well. “We’re dating.” He was grinning, as if proud of the fact.

“You told them.” Lance whispered in awe.

Keith turned to face him, dark eyes sparkled. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“Wait,” Hunk said. “How long have you been keeping this from us?”

“About two months.” Keith answered.

“Nine weeks, two days, and four hours.” Lance confirmed with pride, wrapping his arm around Keith’s waist.

“I can’t believe you know that.” Keith said.

“You don’t?”

“...Maybe.”

“This is strange.” Hunk muttered. “But in a good way. Like cold pizza.”

“Well, we are all happy for you.” Shiro smiled, walking up to Keith to give him a noogie making the younger boy to swat him away.

“This actually makes a lot of sense now.” Allura mused. “You’ve been bickering much less.”

Hunk gasped and stood up to look at Lance with worry dragging his features. “Oh nooooo. That’s why you were so defensive when we teased you about Allura and Keith.”

Pidge’s eyes widened at this and walked over to stand next to Hunk as she fiddle with her sleeves. “That was really crappy of us. Sorry.”

Lance waved them off and went over to hug them. “It’s alright. I would’ve teased you both if it was the other way.”

“This is such a nice moment, yes?” Coran exclaimed and joined in the hug. The others joined, all complaining about a shoulder jutting at them or hair in their face.

“What I’m most surprised about is that Lance is the protective, jealous boyfriend type.” Hunk teased, causing Lance to yelp in protest while the others laughed.

“He freaking punched a guy for Keith. That’s some intense love right there.” Pidge said next to him as the team parted.

Lance crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. “Just call me a knight in shining armor.”

“I wouldn’t say a knight-”

“Shut up Keith and accept my bravery.”

“At least the bickering will continue.” Allura said which earned some looks. “It’ll be weird if they stop since we’ve all become so used to it.”

“I’m just excited to see Keith do cuddly romantic stuff.” Shiro said with a smirk.

Keith glared at Shiro while the others agreed with chuckles and he crossed his arms about to snap back, when suddenly Coran grabbed his arm and held his wrist close to his face.

“He gave you the soulmate ribbon.” Coran said in a whisper, closely observing the lavender ribbon.

“I feel even more like a douche knowing that.” Hunk whined and Pidge nodded in agreement.

“You got a soulmate ribbon?” Allura asked Lance as she walked over to observe the ribbon. “The giving and receiving of a soulmate ribbon is a big deal in thousands of culture’s traditions. Not everyone is able to get one if they don’t have a soulmate.”

Lance felt heat on his cheeks and saw the same pink of Keith’s own face, a flutter in his stomach pulled him to get closer to his boyfriend and hold his unoccupied hand.

Pidge seemed very intrigued by this and pushed up her glasses. “What if someone doesn’t give the ribbon to their soulmate?”

“The ribbon would not be able to physically be tied. The action is quite impossible.” Allura explained with a soft smile as she observed the two blushing boys who were squirming under the intense gazes.

“I guess you two are meant to be together.” Shiro said softly, pride filling his voice.

He felt a jab at his side and Lance turned to see Hunk smirking at him. “Guess you must really regret making that rivalry, huh?”

Lance scowled. “Don’t remind me.”

“So, Lance.” Shiro started, a smirk on his face. “Is Keith a good kisser?”

Keith let out a loud groan and Lance only smiled wider, ready to answer Shiro with glee.

“Don’t answer that.” Keith demanded making Lance give him a smug look.

“I don’t know. I think I’d like to answer.”

‘Hold on,” Pidge interrupted, and Keith sighed in relief. “Have you two had sex yet?”

“Nevermind.” Lance said and hurriedly began to drag Keith away as the others laughed. “You are all horrible.”

“I’m not hearing a no.” Pidge called out.

The door closed behind them and they both sighed in relief.

“Well this is gonna be a nightmare for a while.” Keith grumbled.

“We gotta find some black mail on them to fire back.”

They let out a shared laugh and began walking down the hall.

“Wanna play some video games and just end up making out?”

Keith squeezed his hand and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Or we can skip the first part and get to the good stuff.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> Pidge: You all owe me ten gac
> 
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> Good, slow and natural ending to a story? Don't know her.
> 
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> [My Tumblr](https://vertigoreader.tumblr.com/)


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